UNStudio's design for twofour54’s Mena Zayed campus reveals a bold waterfront development, which makes use of its prominent position near the city’s Corniche to celebrate and support the growing cultural and community spirit that is clearly growing throughout Abu Dhabi.

“Our new campus will be a spectacular and stunning addition to Abu Dhabi’s skyline; a symbol of Abu Dhabi’s commitment to deliver on the Emirate’s 2030 economic vision, said Tony Orsten, CEO twofour54. “However, it will also act as beacon to the region’s media and creative industries making twofour54 and Abu Dhabi the lifestyle destination of choice for Arab creatives – a place they will aspire to work and live.”

“Essentially, the campus is the embodiment of the creative ecosystem that we have been creating at twofour54; a bespoke media precinct, quite unlike anything else in the world, specifically designed to allow the Arab content creation community to flourish and to facilitate the production of world-class Arabic media and entertainment content,” he concluded.

Of UNStudio's design for Zone 1, Ben van Berkel said, “When you see the project from a distance, it communicates through its mediating facades, which function almost as large frames with a view towards the city, almost like large eyes. Within the project, the squares on the plinth provide openings which give open views to the buildings. These plazas generate a fantastic depth of views both across the horizontal plane and vertically, enabling a somewhat dramatic ‘looking up’ effect from the plinth.”